How to Make a Pixelmon Server to Play with Friends

First: Pixelmon doesn't run on the latest Minecraft version

Pixelmon is a mod, not a plugin: it needs a NeoForge server, not a Paper one. Since version 9.3 it no longer works with Forge, only with NeoForge, and it needs Java 21. The current version (Pixelmon 9.4, September 2026) is for Minecraft 1.21.1. The server and every player must be on that same Pixelmon version, or nobody can join.

The easiest route is the official modpack, “The Pixelmon Modpack”: it comes with Pixelmon, its NeoForge and a dozen more mods that go with it, already tested together. There are bigger community modpacks, but each with its own version: pick one and make sure you all use the same.

Pixelmon or Cobblemon?

Both put Pokémon into Minecraft, but they play differently. Pixelmon is closer to the Pokémon games: battles on a separate screen, with their menus, gyms, trainers and shops. Cobblemon battles inside the Minecraft world itself, has a style closer to Minecraft's and runs on Fabric.

In practice: if you want the Pokémon games experience, Pixelmon; if you want something lighter that blends with other Fabric mods, Cobblemon. Pixelmon also needs more memory (more on that next). Both are installed the same way on NapNodes, from “Mods & plugins” → “Modpacks”.

How much RAM it needs

More than Cobblemon: its own wiki asks for at least 4 GB, and more is better. For a group of friends, 6 GB (Iron plan) is what we recommend: every new area you explore is generated with its Pokémon and takes up memory. With 4 GB (Stone) it starts, but it gets tight if several of you are spread across the map. If you add lots of mods to the modpack or there are more than ten of you, 8 GB (Diamond).

The free Minecraft server (3 GB, no card) falls short of what Pixelmon needs: we don't recommend it for this mod. To try Pokémon for free with a few friends, the official Cobblemon modpack does fit in 3 GB.

Running it on your PC, for free

You can: install the NeoForge server for 1.21.1 (its installer has the “Install server” option), put the Pixelmon version you'll all use in the mods folder and start it, with Java 21 and at least 4 GB for the server. The problem is the usual one: your PC has to be on for the others to play, and for them to join from outside you have to open ports on the router or use a VPN-style program (we cover it in the guide to playing with friends without port forwarding).

Installing it on NapNodes

1. Buy the server

   From “Buy”, the Minecraft plan that suits you (Iron, 6 GB, for a group of friends). It comes with Paper, but that doesn't matter: the installer changes it.

2. Open “Mods & plugins” → “Modpacks” tab

   Search for “Pixelmon” and choose “The Pixelmon Modpack” (or the modpack you use).

3. Press “Install” and wait a few minutes

   The panel sets up NeoForge on Minecraft 1.21.1, downloads the mods with their config and starts it. If you already had a world, it moves it aside under another name: nothing is deleted.

4. Make yourself an admin

   In the panel console, op YourName. With that you can use the Pixelmon commands below in the chat.

Getting your friends in

1. The same modpack in their launcher

   Each of them installs the same modpack, in the same version: from the Modrinth app, Prism Launcher or the CurseForge app. With a modded server, the panel also gives you a napnodes.com/jugar/… page with what each player needs.

2. Give the game some memory

   Pixelmon is also heavy on each player's computer: in the launcher, give Minecraft 4 GB or more if the PC has 8 GB of RAM or more. Otherwise it freezes while loading.

3. Add the server

   Multiplayer → Add Server, with the address shown in the panel.

4. No Bedrock

   You can't join from a console or phone: Geyser, which lets Bedrock players in, doesn't work with mods. Pixelmon is for Minecraft Java only.

Settings: shinies, hidden abilities and levels

Pixelmon's config is in “Files” → config/pixelmon, in .yml files: general.yml for general settings and battle.yml for battles. Stop the server before editing them and start it afterwards: if you change them while the server is running, it may overwrite them with the old ones when it shuts down.

What gets changed most, in general.yml: shiny-rate (the shiny chance is 1 in that number; it ships at 4096, and with 2048 you get twice as many), hidden-ability-rate (the same for hidden abilities, 150 by default) and spawn-levels-closer-to-player-levels (if it's true, wild Pokémon spawn at levels close to your team's; if false, they spawn stronger).

Make a backup in “Backups” before changing anything in a world you're already playing in: restoring it is one click if something goes wrong.

Useful Pixelmon commands

You need to be op. In the chat, with the slash; in the panel console, without it.

1. /pokegive <player> <pokémon> [properties]

   Gives a Pokémon to a player; if their team is full, it goes to their PC. Example: /pokegive YourName pikachu lvl:30 s (the s means shiny). With random instead of the name, you get a random one.

2. /pokespawn <pokémon> [properties]

   Spawns a wild one where you are. Handy for events: a legendary at spawn at a set time.

3. /pokeheal [player]

   Heals the team, yours or someone else's. Useful before a tournament.

If something goes wrong

If you get kicked on joining with an error about mismatched mods, that player doesn't have the same modpack or the same Pixelmon version as the server. They should update it or reinstall it from their launcher.

If the server restarts on its own or stutters with several players, it's almost always memory: check the RAM meter in “Home”, the server's screen in the panel. Lowering the view distance (view-distance in server.properties) helps; if it's still full, give it more RAM: “More RAM” in “My plan & invoices”, or “Buy RAM” in “My servers”, with the same world. The lag guide explains how to see what's causing it.

Frequently asked questions